Wille, Bruno (1860-1928)

Wille, Bruno

AUTHOR, PREACHER, PHILOSOPHER (GERMANY)

BORN 6 Feb 1860, Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt - DIED 31 Aug 1928, Aeschach: Schloss Senftenau (near Lindau am Bodensee)
GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Parkfriedhof Lichterfelde, Thuner Platz 2-4 (FiW-343 (Ehrengrab) (ashes))

In 1881 Bruno Wille started his theology studies in Bonn, but he soon switches to mathematics and philosophy. After his military service he settled in Berlin as a home teacher. From 1884 to 1886 he was teacher at the house of the authoress Mite Kremnitz in Bukarest. In Romania he met queen Elisabeth and geographer Heinrich Kiepert, who engaged him as a travelling companion to Constantinopel in 1886.

In 1887 he returned to Germany, where he finished his studies. In 1890 he married Auguste Krüger in Berlin. He was a member of the "Berliner Naturalistenvereins" and he befriended Karl Bleibtreu, Gerhart Hauptmann and Arnold Holz. In 1890 he moved to Berlin-Friedrichshagen and together with Wilhelm Bölsche he was at the base of the Friedrichshagener Dichterkreis (Friedrichshagen Poets Circle). Among the members were August Strindberg and Frank Wedekind.

In 1890 he, Bölsche and Julius Türk started a theatre, the Freie Volksbühne. Bölsche left within two years and in 1892 Wille became the editor of the Bundeszeitung der Freidenker. From 1894 onwards his main profession was preacher for the free-religious church of Berlin. This church wasn't recognized by the authorities and he was arrested in 1895 and gain in 1897 in Graz. In 1898 he returned to Germany. In 1901 he started a free religious school together with Bölsche, where he became a teacher.

After his divorce in 1920 he married Emmy Friedlaender, the widow of Benedikt Friedlander. He moved to Schloss Senftenau in Aeschach where he died in 1928.

Related persons
• was a friend of Holz, Arno
• has a connection with Wedekind, Frank

Images

The grave of Bruno Wille at the Parkfriedhof Lichterfelde, Berlin.
Picture by Androom (30 Mar 2007)